Democrats sweating Connecticut Senate race

Democrats have no business losing a Senate race in deep blue Connecticut, a state where the Republican candidate lost by double digits two short years ago and Democrats have a commanding voter registration advantage.

But now the party is sweating that possibility thanks to a cascade of setbacks for its standard-bearer, Rep. Chris Murphy — and the surprisingly strong general election campaign of former World Wrestling Entertainment magnate Linda McMahon.

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Murphy’s problems of late are forcing the national party to send staff and money to the state to help counter the near-constant onslaught of negative ads from the McMahon campaign. It’s a small ad buy — only $320,000, a fraction of McMahon’s spending — but an indication the national party is paying close attention to the state.

“We’ve been 100 percent behind Chris Murphy, we were going to make sure he had whatever resources he needs to win this race,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Matt Canter said. “She peaked at this exact same time in 2010, in August and September, and we believe the end result will be the same” in November.

Still, Murphy has been on the defensive virtually nonstop since the Aug. 14 primary.

The three-term congressman has struggled to respond to reports that he received what McMahon is calling a generous mortgage after he was sued for nonpayment of rent in 2003 and for foreclosure in 2007.

In both cases, Murphy quickly rectified the situation with repayments, but the headlines have stuck. And though Murphy and the bank have denied there was any “sweetheart deal” — and various outside experts and editorial boards have said there does not appear to be any wrongdoing — that didn’t stop the McMahon campaign from releasing a blistering ad suggesting voters “connect the dots” between Murphy’s mortgage and his seat on the Financial Services Committee.

McMahon, using her virtually limitless personal fortune, has managed to reverse her previously dismal standing among voters. And since Connecticut isn’t a presidential swing state, McMahon’s ads are practically the only ones many voters are seeing.

A late-August Quinnipiac poll showed McMahon pulling ahead of Murphy by 3 points and improving her likability ratings. And a survey by the University of Connecticut and the Hartford Courant released Wednesday had Murphy up 37 percent to 33 percent, within the 4.4-point margin of error.

“Her favorability is at a net-positive right now,” said Douglas Schwartz, Quinnipiac’s poll director. “And Murphy isn’t the household name [now Sen.] Dick Blumenthal was; a third of voters say they haven’t heard enough about him, that’s why her ads can be effective.”

The race was never going to be an easy fight for Murphy: McMahon’s vast wealth all but guaranteed she would be able to dominate the airwaves and hit the relatively unknown congressman right out of the gate.

“Everything he is doing right now is rebuttal and counterpunching,” said Gary Rose, a political science professor at Sacred Heart University. “She’s really setting the pace and controlling the messaging for the campaign. What he’s forced to do is respond; when you are always responding it’s generally not good.”

Democrats, at least publicly, describe a glass-half-full scenario. The fact that McMahon has spent more than $65 million on her Senate aspirations since 2010 and only been able to manage a tie with Murphy, they say, is a positive sign for the Democrat.

Its hard to believe that the Connecticut Democrats would even believe the lies from this Conservative Tea Party candidate Linda McMahon. The DNC needs to get in Connecticut stat, and put this race away for Chris Murphy. This is a very important race for the Senate to remain Democrat. The Missouri Senate race is close as well between Claire McCaskill and Todd Akin. The Democratic party better not make the same mistake they made in Massachusetts in 2010.

She can stand on her head if she wants to and she still can't win in CT. Elections in CT are decided in Bridgeport and Bridgeport is bluer than the Atlantic ocean.

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In response to WTNH Reporter Mark Davis’ question about whether the wealthy should pay more in taxes, McMahon replied: “I’d like to see everyone pay their fair share. Forty-seven percent of the people today don’t pay any taxes, so let’s have a fair tax code where everybody pays their taxes. “

Does she ACTUALLY think people have forgotten what she said originally about taxes?

She's the one who must have had HER head slammed on the mat too many times...lol..

The tea party movement, was a grass roots organization 4 years ago. But now, its Politicians are puppets, having there strings pulled by lobbyist Grover Norquist and people like the Koch brothers, to get money to get elected.

This is a paradox to me.. Here you have the great Obama and the sycophants in the press keep marching out these heavily weighted polls that show the Kenyan Klown leading and yet in this liberal cess pool of a state, the Dem is not leading? Explain that to me sycophants.

Democrats are nothing but socialists who wear the american flag for cover.

When its all said and done in the future, the truth about who King Kardashian really is will come out, and he will be seen as the biggest fraud ever imposed onto the american electorate, and you democrats will be seen as the idiotys your already are.

The dems own the Senate who wont pass a budget, who sis the obstructionist.

Won't pass the REPUBLICAN budget, which would be disastrous. Republicans won't vote for any budget the dems put out anyways. It's called gridlock and it's not just on the dems. Stop with your obviously partisan hackery.

To have such a noble zeal for the millions, and to feel so little compassion for the units; to long to fee empires and enlighten kingdoms, and deny instruction to your own village and comfort your own family. Surely, none but a philosopher could indulge so much philanthropy and so much frugality at the same time. But come, do assist me in a partition I am making in our poorhouse, between the old, whom I want to have better fed, and the young whom I want to have more worked.

It looks like the citizens in CONN are going to allow another rich Republican to buy their votes.

Of course she will vote with the rest of her Party when it comes time to get rid of social security, medicare, reduce regulations on the banks that got us into this mess and give more in taxes to the very rich and subsidies to the oil companies.

Here is that nice little Neo-Con comfort story from Politico in light of all the other recent presidential and Senate polling in favor of the Dems. Just remember Cons, hard liquor sales help spur the economy too, especially American-made bourbon. I recommend Maker's Mark.